Azam orders closure of JNNURM schemes, FIR against encroachers

Unhappy with the progress, urban development minister Azam Khan on Tuesday ordered closure of various schemes run under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in Uttar Pradesh.

The deadline for the completion of these schemes under the phase II of JNNURM is March 2014.

Khan, who chaired the review meeting of the department, also ordered FIRs against those guilty of encroaching government land.

“I want a policy and an action plan that ensures encroachers don’t return,” he said while also asking the officials to consider allotting proper space to street vendors to ease the problem of encroachment.

Khan asked all municipal commissioners to ensure availability of land for street vendors ready to buy government land at premium rates.

This, he said, would not only meaningfully engage people but also raise government’s income.

Recalling one of his visits to Korea, where he was impressed by beautification work on road dividers and on either sides of the road, Khan asked officials to consider replicating the Korean model for major roads of big cities in UP.

A tree plantation drive was also ordered by the minister who set a deadline of December 31 for completion of various ongoing JNNURM schemes, while making it clear that a violation would lead to “strict action”.

He followed up his warning by ordering suspension of Anoop Kumar Saxena, the Allahabadbased project manager and superintending engineer of Jal Nigam after he failed to explain the delay in sewerage work in Allahabad.

He also rushed Chitranjan Swaroop, the minister of state for urban development to Kanpur for a review of sewerage district 4 scheme.

Khan also said that he wasn’t in favour of automated machines and techniques as these “tend to make people jobless”.

Khan suggested that such technology should be introduced only after proper consideration.

He also asked that officers would be made to pay for the additional costs of those schemes that get extended due to delays.